Young Writers Society

Emirrian Mythology Stuff

The origin of se and saa:

p.sure it's believed that the first se (a biological man) was the child of Tasi and Aylohn (which is why the se are favoured by the gods and spirits). They were beautiful and resourceful, though delicate, and less physically inclined. Because of this, it was decided that the se needed protectors, and people to go out and provide for them, and serve them.

Tasi came down to the earth, and bartered with the jungle spirits to give her one bough from their oldest tree, from which she would create the se's guardians. They relented after five days, and Tasi took up the bough of the oldest tree in the forest (the type is called the uygotan; more notes on it later) and brought it to heaven (Buyantotel; more notes on it later). She and Aylohn crafted the first saa (a biological woman) and sent her down to protect the se.

The se was named Janoh, and the saa was named Neaal.

The Emirrians believe that all other races also come from trees because of this (it's said that Tasi offered the spirits tuygati in exchange for the bough, which is, in short, life, so they used it), and that they came directly from Tasi and Aylohn does not make them better, but different.

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Death and the afterlife:

The Emirrians believe that death was first carried by a bird, which was the pet of the jungle spirit Tyom. The bird was called Tyotyom (which literally means 'belonging to Tyom). It came after the daughter of Janoh and Neaal (their forth child, and the first female-born se) was the one who found it.

She had watched her older sister (the saa Balis) setting traps, and wished to set some for herself. Out of the dozen she set, all were empty but the last one, in which she had captured Tyotyom. In his beak was a bright red nut (called a tyohethe, meaning "Tyom's Nut"). Curious, the fourth-born took it from Tyotom's beak, and tried a bite of it. She died immediately, and Tyom's essence (which is decay) was immediately released.

It was Tasi who kept it from going rampart, and she did all she could to confine it. Aylohn sealed it, and, as recompense for the unhappy mistake, honoured the dead by making them the guardians of their families for three generations. It's said that each saa spirit protects the se, and each se spirit protects the saa. After these three generations are gone, and their spirits trained to take the place of the previously deceased, the dead can choose one of two fates:

They can have their spirit sent into Buyantotel to be with Tasi and Aylohn, or they can go to a secret paradise under the sea, where it's said that fates, coincidences, and paths are formed by the dead for the living.

The Tyotyom bird is black-blue, quite large for a songbird, and has three bright red markings on its breast. It's song is low and foreboding, and seeing one (or a tyohethe) is considered to be a very, very bad omen.

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The Uygotan Tree:

It's a very large, thick-branched tree. Its bark is smooth, but the wood that comes from it is the sturdiest of all, and is a medium orange-brown in colour. They push straight up from the ground, twist very little, and have thick, solid limbs from which a seven-pointed, bright green, waxy leaf grows. It produces small, green-skinned fruits with bright orange flesh. This fruit is considered sacred, and can only be eaten by the village's religious leader and their family, by a nursing mother (it's said that it blesses the baby when the child drinks their mother's milk), and one slice is eating by each partner during a wedding ceremony (to give long life to the union. Two slices are given to the spouses if they're compatible to procreate; one for each parent, and one for a blessing for their future children).

The only people allowed to go within seven paces of these trees are the Tsan and the se spiritualists. The only one permitted to touch it without great cause (later explained) is the village's religious leader.

But, because the saa were crafted from the bark of these trees to keep the se safe, a se in danger of their life may climb into its branches. For a time, every se child is allowed to touch the tree while the village's priest teaches them how to climb to the first limb, which is usually aprox. seven feet of the ground of a mature Uygotan tree, so that they can evade captors or predatory animals. From there, the branches grow closer and closer together, enabling the se to reach a very high point where the limbs are entangled enough to provide ample hiding places if needed. This is the only other time where anyone is permitted to eat of its fruit and leaves, in case the se must be sustained for multiple days.

Approaching this tree in any other manner or for any other reason is punishable by flogging, because it's a great disrespect to Tasi and may anger the jungle spirits, who prize the tree above all others.

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The Uygethet (Uygotan's Bird):

There's a bird, said to be the enemy of the Tyotyom, that often makes its home in Uygotan trees and feeds off of uygotan fruit. Its plumage is a deep, bright yellow, though its wings are blue, and it has three blue marks on its breast. These birds are said to be very, very good omens, especially when one is spotted during a wedding, on the day a child is born, or to a lost Emirrian.

If the bird has uygotan fruit in its beak, it's said to foretell of the conception of a child, blossoming romance, or the safe return of one who's been lost for a long time. If the bird drops the fruit, the closest Emirrian to it is to eat it for luck.